Ultimata
by Formerly Known As
Summary: Robotnik prepares to release his greatest weapon yet and Sonic must stop him. Only problem is the ultimate weapon is…what?!? Now wait a minute that can’t be right!
1. Memorial

****

Ultimata   
By That Retched Person Who Cannot Decide On A Name   
Otherwise Known (Currently) as M. E. Gibbs

Summary: Robotnik prepares to release his greatest weapon yet and Sonic must stop him. Only problem is the ultimate weapon is…what?!? Now wait a minute that can't be right!

Author's Note: Okay so the my summary sucks. I'm not very good at them. But if you're curious enough, read. And if you aren't…well doesn't bother me, but please I would like you to read my piece. Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome. Flaming for the sake of flaming is not. It's hella funny though, so whatever! Read and hopefully enjoy. Or don't read and I know you won't get ANY enjoyment out of my story. Well, there are certain hypothetical situations in which you could enjoy my story with out reading it but…ah just read the dang thing!

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't own shit and you all know it…Actually, I DO own this story. And I'm possessive. Do we need to explain things further?   
Okay, here's a run down. Sonic and crew belong to Sonic Team…or Sega or Dic or to the little man wearing the green derby. Nobody's actually sure which of them owns Sonic and company, but needless to say, I don't. The story and ideas here in are mine. The ideas? You can have 'em (so long as I get a bit of credit)! The story? That's mine. You can put it up on your website, burn it, pretend it doesn't exist…I don't care. Just give me credit for it and…I'd like to know where my story does end up…Provided it doesn't end up in the trash…  
I think you get the idea…

And now, the story!  
*****  
Chapter 1   
Memorial 

The moon was rising, or at least what was left of the moon was rising. Sonic watched the sight with an odd mix of envy, sorrow, and awe. He had always thought the moon an alright sight before, if a little bland. He didn't mind looking at the moon occasionally, its light certainly came in handy every once in a while. But he'd never seen anything really romantic or even vaguely impressive about it before. It was after all a ball of rock in the sky that didn't make its own light but rather reflected light from the sun. Moonlight walks on the beach held no glamour for the hedgehog and candlelit dinners were out of the question. In Sonic's mind, the night was for sleeping and that was about it. The moon was a crappy of source of none too attractive light at best and it was only at best about a fourth of the time anyway, not including overcast nights. 

But things were different now. In more ways than one. Now Sonic came outside to look at the moon every night, rain or moonshine. 

Looking at the moon every night had become Sonic's memorial for a dead friend. Well, sort of friend. Or maybe dead enemy would be better to say. Or…Or maybe not. Sonic couldn't quite figure out what Shadow meant to Sonic. That he had meant something was certain, but Sonic had decided shortly after returning to the planet that he wouldn't worry about it.

That isn't to say that he didn't care about Shadow or mourn the loss of him. No not at all. Sonic was quite upset when Shadow plummeted through the atmosphere to a painful and most likely messy death. Then again, it could be a very clean death, after all, burning up in the atmosphere probably wouldn't leave much behind but ash. There certainly hadn't been a body to recover or anything along those lines. At least not one they had found.

That kind of upset Rouge, not being able to have a funeral. But as Knuckles said, you needed a body to have a funeral. They didn't even have Shadow's ashes. A memorial was set up instead, but, as Tails said as they left the unveiling ceremony, it didn't really do the black hedgehog justice. All of them could see it, plain as day. Amy and Tails visited it occasionally anyway and Rouge continually sent flowers, though she never showed up in person at that memorial again, for reasons of her own.

Sonic, on the other hand, had found a different memorial entirely. The night after they'd returned to the planet, Sonic went outside to look up at the stars and see if he could spot ARK. It was silly, but it was something for Sonic to do other than sit around listening to Amy wail, Tails commiserate, and the media babble on and on about how great Shadow had been. Easy for them to say, he was dead now. 

As Sonic stared into the sky, the moon had rose. At first Sonic paid it no heed, as the moon wasn't as bright as it use to be. That and Sonic was facing the wrong direction. But when Sonic did see the moon, he couldn't get his eyes off it.

When the Eclipse Cannon hit the moon it blasted out a massive chunk. Some of that debris was obliterated by the blast, but most hadn't. A lot of people feared that those chunks would crash into the earth and cause Armageddon. Certainly there had been a lot more meteor showers of late. But most of the debris remained in the moon's orbit, surrounding the moon with a halo of loose rock and grit. This halo of rock caught the light of the sun in much the same as the moon did. So the glow reflected off all chunks. But all those little pieces of rock did more than just reflect light. They scattered it. Each one acted as a mini prism. And so the whole moon was surrounded in a rainbow halo of light.

It was then, staring at the moon surrounded in more rainbows than he had ever dreamed existed, that Sonic decided not to worry about Shadow. He wouldn't worry about whether Shadow had died painfully or even worry about the possibility that Shadow was alive (as Tails was set on believing). Sonic wouldn't worry any more about what Shadow meant to him, whether he was friend, foe, or something else entirely. 

Instead he would merely remember the hedgehog as Shadow, the good, the bad, the ugly, the brilliant. It was the best thing Sonic thought he could do for Shadow, no matter what had happened to him. 

And staring at the midnight rainbow, Sonic decided that Shadow had left a perfect memorial in the sky.


	2. Data Processing

Ultimata  
By Formerly Known As  
  
Disclaimer: The crazed author does not own Robotnik. The crazed author does not own Shadow. The crazed author owns very little. But that's not the point! The crazed author does own this story. The crazed author also owns the personality given to Metal Sonic and Robotnik's computer. Is everyone else getting as sick of read 'the crazed author' as I am of writing it? I swear if I type 'the crazed author' one more time....Ah shit!  
  
Oh forget it! Onto the story!  
  
Chapter 2  
Data Processing  
  
Robotnik loudly cursed the inefficiency of using living creatures over robots. He knew he should have had Shadow robotocized as soon as he met him. Instead, he'd gone easy on the stupid hedgehog and because of it, he'd lost another major battle to the stupid hedgehog. The other stupid hedgehog. The blue stupid hedgehog. There were just too many stupid hedgehogs to keep track of these days. Or rather there were. Because Shadow was now dead.   
  
The thought perked Robotnik up instantly. Shadow was no longer alive to torment   
Robotnik the way Sonic did. So life was therefore better. The last adventure was over and now it was time to start plotting the next scheme to take over the world.  
  
"Computer! Report status!"  
  
A monotonous voice rang out through Robotnik's control room. "PRIORITY ONE   
HEDGEHOG IS STILL ON THE LOOSE. STOCKS ARE UP 2.9 PERCENT. ROBOTIC ARMY IS CURRENTLY DOWN 54 THOUSAND TROOPS. MARGARET HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH JOHN BUT BIANCA, MARGARET'S EVIL TWIN SISTER HAS DISCOVERED THE TRUTH OF MARGARET'S AFFAIR WITH MICHAEL. ENEMY ACTIVITY SPOTTED ON NORTHERN FRONT OF BASE. ETERNAL ERROR FOUND. BRUSHING TEETH INCREASES RISK OF HIV, SAYS DR. MCCALLISTER OF..."  
  
"What the?!" shouted Robotnik in confusion. The computer continued on its tirade of information.   
  
Metal Sonic's cold voice came floating out of a corner. "Sir, you did not specify what status you wished reported on. You confused the computer so it is merely reporting ALL statuses, whether they are useful or not."  
  
"Metal Sonic, you've been messing with my computer again, haven't you!?"  
  
Metal Sonic gave Robotnik the best blank look he could manage. Considering he was a robot without facial expressions, it turned out pretty well.  
  
"Hmmph," snorted Robotnik. "Very well. Computer," he said, interrupting the stream of information, "report status on processing of information downloaded from ARK's mainframe."  
  
"DATA PROCESSING AT 100 PERCENT COMPLETION."  
  
"Why didn't you say so!?"  
  
"YOU DIDN'T ASK."  
  
Robotnik shot a glance at Metal Sonic who was industriously examining a piece of dust on the floor.  
  
"Report results computer. No, wait. Just place a summary up on the main screen."  
  
"YES, SIR."  
  
The computer screen which had before hand been covered in a blue screen with the words 'Robotnik is the greatest,' 'Robotnik is the supreme ruler,' and 'Robotnik will conquer all' was now filled with lines and lines of writing. Idly, Robotnik scanned through this writing. The computer room was filled with the soft buzzing of the computer. Metal Sonic snuck up behind him and silently read the information over Robotnik's shoulder.   
  
Robotnik's fist suddenly slammed into the computer console in front of him. Like a startled bird, Metal Sonic silently shot back to his corner and tried to pretend he had never left.  
  
"What?!" cried Robotnik, staring at the words on the screen. Metal Sonic looked as relieved as a piece of metal can be. Quickly, Robotnik hurried through the rest of the summary.   
  
"If this information is true," Robotnik muttered to himself, "then he might just be alive after all. But that means..."  
  
Suddenly one of the computer's earlier comments caught up to him.  
  
"What do you mean there are enemies on the northern front?!"  
  
"ENEMY ACTIVITY HAS BEEN DETECTED ON THE NORTHERN FRONT OF THE BASE, BEGINNING AT 1600 HOURS AND CONTINUING TO CURRENT TIME. LOCATION OF ENEMY ACTIVITY INACCURATE DUE TO SCRAMBLING PROCEDURES IMPLEMENTED BY ENEMY AT 1400 HOU-"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner!?!"  
  
"DOES NOT COMPUTE."  
  
Metal Sonic's husky voice slid out of the shadowy corner he occupied. "The computer DID tell you sooner. When it began its report."  
  
With a curse Robotnik rushed out of the room. Metal Sonic and the computer watched him go.   
  
"I was wondering when he was going to remember that part of the report," said Metal Sonic.  
  
"ME TOO," answered the computer.  
***************************  
  
Author's Crazed Note: My god, I did it. It's a vaguely happy story. That...comes as a slight surprise. Mainly because I wasn't aiming for a happy story. It merely turned out that way. Funny how that works, isn't? 


	3. Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt

Ultimata  
By Formerly Known As  
  
Chapter 3  
Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt  
  
Author's Note: The summary for this story may not fit it all that well. Then again it may you can never tell. Can we say drunken head rush? We coould but I don't see why as Iam not drunk. I can't find my head though. I think I left in New Deli...Not that I've been to New Deli. Or have I? No really, someone tell me please!  
  
Looks like we could say non-alcoholic drunken head rush. Yeah, that fits.  
************  
  
Shadow was decidedly pissed. It wasn't everyday a fellow got the chance to die in a blaze of glory saving the world. In fact the chances of it happening again were...well, better than one would think. At least they were for Shadow.   
  
But that currently wasn't the point. The point was that Shadow had tried to do something great, something grand, had tried, just once, to be a hero (and looking back, Shadow idly realized he had succeeded there, but again, that wasn't the point) and in that final instance, that final second, where he was suppose to die in triumph some niggling, stubborn part of him had acted up.  
  
Shadow didn't have much experience in handling this part of himself. He had long since known it to be there, for it often reared its head at the most unexpected times. It was stubborn and fiery, fierce, and inefficient. Maybe it was because Shadow had grown up with nothing but a bunch of scientists, or maybe it was because Shadow lived in space most his life and in space inefficiency could mean death, but efficiency had always been important to him. Maybe that was why Shadow had liked Dr. Robotnik. Robotnik built robots and robots were the ultimate in efficiency. Actually, Eggman's robots hadn't been all that efficient. Come to think of it, Shadow never had really liked Eggman.  
  
The niggling part of Shadow at once frustrated and scared him. It frustrated Shadow because he wasn't really sure what it would cause him to do. He was scared because that niggling part of him reminded him acutely of Sonic.  
  
Shadow, as earlier noted, liked efficiency. Shadow was practically the definition of efficiency. Look the word up in a dictionary and you would see a picture of Shadow. Look up its antonym and you'd see a picture of Sonic.  
  
It wasn't that Shadow was perfect. Hardly. Not even Shadow was prideful or stupid enough to call himself perfect. But if Shadow wanted to accomplish something, he would go from point A to point C without even bothering with point B and no dilly dallying around at point A and a half or the imaginary point of Doowap that is said to exist there in.   
  
Sonic always managed to get things done...eventually. He would, somehow, make it from point A to point C, but not before he'd visited B, D, E, every other point in the alphabet, a few in the Greek alphabet, and the occasional imaginary letter to boot. And he'd take his blasted sweet time doing even that!  
  
Shadow thoughtfully planned out everything. Sonic was pure spontaneity. The two were as different as day and night.   
  
And now, Shadow was discovering he too had the seeds for spontaneity, the ability to make things up as he went, regardless of all his precise planning that had guided him through his life.  
  
Of course Shadow didn't have any plans left. Originally they ended when with the destruction of earth, for shortly after earth's destruction, so too would ARK decay and be destroyed. Then, when his little niggling side had popped up and for the first time convinced Shadow to listen to it, Shadow had dashed off to stop the fall of ARK. That he had more or less made up as he went, or rather, let others make it up as he went. And as he went, battling that battle then another, always, always, Shadow had the plans to die when all of it was over. To die the glorious hero and once again be done with his plans.  
  
Then the niggling had started up again, stubborn as ever, fierce and fiery, and totally unwilling to die with out a fight. Or at least one last Chaos Control.   
  
And for reasons Shadow wasn't entirely sure of, he had obeyed. He'd dragged up the last of his energy and poured into one last massive Chaos Control, shooting he knew not where, but preferably somewhere with water, as it would be less painful to land in. Apparently he'd had a lot more energy than he thought.   
  
Instead of the forceful, bone breaking crash into the water, Shadow had ended up with a slight splash and a loud curse in a pond somewhere in a jungle. Shadow, like Sonic, had no clue how to swim. Instead, using a creative method of frantic arm waving and a few sputtering fires of his boots, he managed to reach a log. He hauled himself up halfway and then his energy gave out, leaving him hung out like a dried fish and feeling just as out of place.  
  
This, Shadow thought to himself, as he watched water drip errantly down an out of place quill, was what he got for listening to that niggling little voice. Sopping wet, out of energy, half in a pond, and completely frustrated.  
  
"Well, now what?" asked Shadow out loud to the niggling part of himself.  
  
The niggling part remained infuriatingly quiet for once.  
  
Shadow let out another well marked curse.  
  
This is what he got for acting like Sonic 


	4. Endless Winter

Ultimata  
By Formerly Known As  
  
Author's Note: I've finally realized that this story is quickly becoming ridiculously complicated. But hopefully in a good way.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own G.U.N. They belong to Sega. I do own just about everything else in this chapter. And the chapter itself of course.  
  
Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You guys make writing a little easier and posting these stories completely worthwhile.  
  
But I'll shut up now since what you really wanted to do was read anyway.  
  
Chapter 5  
Endless Winter  
  
It was sometime around noon above ground, but in the depths of one of G.U.N.'s many military research facilities, this fact was impossible to know unless you looked at a clock. Of which there were none in the room containing one of G.U.N.'s bigger secrets.  
  
The fact hadn't really meant much to iT to begin with. Then again iT hadn't really given a damn about anything to begin with.  
  
But as time progressed, to iT, it felt like time didn't really go anywhere. Almost like there was not time anymore. Just the endless cold room. There was no way to mark the passage of time in iTs little room, since the room lacked a clock or even a calendar. All the little blinking lights had even gone off long ago. Not that they had given iT any real measurement of time. But counting the blinks had at least given iT something to do. Just counting to iTself had proven ineffective, since iT occasionally got into arguments with iTself whenever it lost count. Even the arguments with iTself had proven interesting, though iT knew very well that arguing with one's self was never a good idea.   
  
Arguing with one's self was a trait of insanity.  
  
That or caused insanity.  
  
Not that iT really cared. iT knew iT was insane. Or at least skirting the edges around insanity. But despite knowing that, iT liked to cling as closely to sanity as iT could. It wasn't always easy, but clinging to sanity was also one of the few occupations left to iT.   
  
Unfortunately, iT was losing the battle.  
  
iT shifted iTs weight slightly and shivered a little in the cold. There were many reasons why iT didn't like the room. The lack of anyway to measure time was one of those. The cold was another. The room was kept at a constant near freezing temperature, for reasons iT didn't know. Perhaps to keep iT from getting out of control again. iT knew iT had been very bad once. But iT also knew iT had been punished for being bad. So obviously, they couldn't still be punishing iT for getting out of control. Could they?  
  
No, don't be silly. They just didn't want iT to do something silly again and get out of control so they would have to punish iT. iT didn't like being punished. And they didn't like punishing iT. Probably because iT wasn't very easy to punish. iT didn't feel pain and had no knowledge of death. To iT everything was endless.   
  
Including the time spent in the cold room.  
  
The very cold room.  
  
But iT was getting bored again. Thinking never got iT anywhere. Generally thinking just led iT around in circles. iT didn't mind circles. But thinking in them was annoying.   
  
So iT turned iTs attention to iTs other favorite past time. Slowly, iT focused iTs eyes on a nearby computer console. iT studied the console intently for an unknown but very long time.   
  
Nope, no change on the console. The layer of frost and ice covering the computer hadn't changed any. iT switched iTs attention to a different console. What about this one over here?  
  
Nothing ever changed in the small, icy room deep under the G.U.N. base. A room in which no one had entered for nearly fifty years. A room that had no calendar, no clock. Only one occupant. And only the ever thickening ice showed that time was passing at all. 


	5. Mission

Ultimata  
By Formerly Known As

Author's Notes: The story lives! --Insert creepy sound effects and manic Frankenstien-esque laughter--   
Ahem. Anyway, yes, Ultimata is back from the story grave yard and being worked on as rigorously as all my other stories (in other words, who knows when you'll see a chapter update). This story was put on hold for various reasons. I became disenchanted with it at one point, disenchanted with a lot of my ideas for this story. Finally, I realized that my problem was that I was trying to put too much into a single story. The plot was getting far too complicated with too many characters and too many things happening in the sidelines.

So, suffice it to say, I've slapped my plot around into something simpler and much more do-able.

Gee, this chapter seem a bit familiar to anyone else? In all truth, this is really a chapter re-write. While I liked a lot of the dialog in the old version of this chapter (which use to be chapter four and went by the name 'Operative' before I deleted it, dropping Endless Winter into the four spot), I realized that mostly, it just didn't work. It had a random fan character who was ill fleshed out and honestly had no point in the story really (big thanks go to Stoney for pointing this out to me). So, part of the process of simplifying the story over all, I deleted the original copy of the chapter here on

At first, I planned not to have the chapter in at all. After playing Sonic Heroes, I got the idea of retrying the chapter with the Chaotix in place of the useless fancharacter. Over all, I am very pleased with the result. The characters are more dynamic because of it, the writing more detailed, and Rouge is ACTUALLY in character now!

Special thanks goes out to my editor, Xelia, for helping me beat the ending of the chapter into working and pointing out that an 'unfounded sense of nameless dread' was kind of over doing it.

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are property of Sonic Team. Story and writing are property of Formerly Known As. This story is set in an alternate universe, after the story of Sonic Adventure 2. However, the occurrences and story line of Sonic Heroes does not ever happen in this universe, though elements of Sonic Heroes will be present (ie, the Chaotix, only with Mighty, because he's cool). However, this is NOT a Sonic Heroes adaptation. It is what it is.

Chapter 5  
Mission

Gold eyes stared at her cooly from behind a large desk. The desk was for show, something fancy and rich looking to impress potential clients, but had probably never even seen any sort of actual paperwork. To the right and out of the way stood a hulking figure, glaring menacingly from a bodyguard position. "You know, we could kill you in about five seconds. In fact, we really probably should. Do you realize that?" the one behind the desk asked, tipping his purple head to one side.

Rouge the Bat, sitting on the other side of the desk in a very uncomfortable chair, rolled her eyes but nodded her head. "I'm aware of the risks I'm taking," she replied, barely managing to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

The chair swivelled slightly, giving her an elegant profile. "No, I don't think you actually are," came the reply in a deep, rich voice. "You're aware of the fact that I'm the best damn fighter in these parts. You're aware I'm the one best suited to the job you've outlined here. You know I don't take real kindly to G.U.N. employees."

"Former G.U.N. employee," interrupted Rouge. "I've gotten out of that business."

This received a polite incline of the head. "Former G.U.N. employee then. Regardless of your status, you have worked for G.U.N. and I am not obliged to take kindly to your likes. Nor do I take kindly to anyone who arrives here without an appointment."

"I apologize for my…intrusion," said Rouge. "But it didn't look like you had any other clients...at all, for today."

The chair swung back to face forward. Rouge was given a slight glare. "Things are not always as they look."

Rouge gave her best, most sincere false smile. "Of course not," she answered smoothly. "But I'm still offering you a case. And for a very sizable sum of money."

"We have many other clients, Miss Rouge. We are the best at what we do. We don't need to take your money." There was a lot of iron in the voice and a good deal of disdain as well.

The smile stayed on Rouge's face, though it looked like it hurt. "I'm aware of all that, sir." The sir sounded more like an insult. "However, I thought you would be willing to take this case as it is, as I'm sure you can see it is a matter of the utmost importance."

The one behind the desk laid a gloved hand on the thick folder in front of him. "Yes. I see how you might think this is a big deal."

"And you don't!?" snarled Rouge, rising up out of her chair.

The bodyguard by the desk growled menacingly, showing off his crocodile teeth, and Rouge quickly sat down. While she was pretty certain she could take the bodyguard, getting kicked out wouldn't accomplish what she wanted and they'd probably keep her money to boot.

"You must understand, Miss Rouge," the chameleon behind the desk told her in a consoling voice, as sincere as Rouge's earlier smile. "It is not our policy to get involved in situations we are not needed in." A gloved hand patted the thick file. "This could turn into a very dangerous situation. But it currently isn't one. And as such, I don't believe our interference is needed."

"That's a very dangerous point of view, sir," Rouge replied calmly through gritted teeth. "If you spot dangerous situations before they occur, you can stop them before people are hurt."

"Spoken like a true operative," came the harsh reply, gold eyes hard. "That's always been G.U.N.'s way of handling things. Take care of it before anything can happen." The figure leaned forward in his chair, gold eyes intense. "Do you know how many assignments G.U.N. sends out agents on that are 'possible' dangers?"

"I do not know every detail of G.U.N's inner workings...sir," the bat answered, voice polite, eyes glaring.

"The majority of G.U.N assignments are either for _possible_ dangers or dangers that have arisen BECAUSE of G.U.N interference in possible danger situations."

"So you say" Rouge spat, unable to keep the scorn out of her voice.

"I say things as I see them," answered the chameleon, deep voice harsh, nearly a yell. He sat back carefully, trying to keep his emotions under control. "Here, we only interfere when things are actually in the danger zone. Other than that, we merely watch."

A dark silence filled the small office, the tension growing as the chameleon waited for Rouge to respond. Rouge, on the other hand, did not think his words deserved to be honored with a reply. Finally, seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, she said calmly, "I don't see how THAT strategy can solve problems any better than G.U.N's approach to matters."

"You were involved in the whole recent ARK incident, were you not?" the deep voice asked

Rouge was startled by the sudden change of topic, though she tried not to let it show. "Of course I was," she replied haughtily. "I was an integral part of the situation."

A cold snort from the crocodile. "An integral part in screwin' things up!"

Rouge was standing again. "How dare you!"

The chameleon was between them in an instant, ready for anything. "Please sit down Miss Rouge. My companion...did not mean to insult you. It's merely that G.U.N's interference proved to be quite...catastrophic in the ARK incident."

The bat did not stop glaring, though she kindly shared with both people. "G.U.N.'s interference at times were key to helping things move forward," she snapped, sitting down. "If G.U.N. hadn't interfered, Sonic might never have gotten himself involved in the whole affair."

Another snort from the crocodile, though it was more amused this time.

The chameleon chuckled again. "Oh trust me, he would have ended up in the middle of it sooner or later. A hedgehog that people were mistaking for him, despite the fact that the two really don't look all that much alike. Eggman smack dab in the middle of it all. The world just being in general danger. Yeah, Sonic would have jumped right into it eventually. And he might have handled things a little better in the end."

Rouge rolled her eyes and sat back in the uncomfortable chair, folding her arms. It was her turn to snort. "Like that blue buffoon could ever handle anything but beating the stuffing out of Eggman with any sort of grace."

"You think so?" the chameleon asked. "If G.U.N. hadn't been chasing Sonic and his friends all over the city, Sonic might have had his little fox friend do some research on Shadow. If he had, Tails would have made some discoveries about Shadow's past. Sonic would probably have realized that Shadow really wasn't evil, merely…having an identity crisis. Or some anger management problems. Or whatever his problem was."

Rouge snorted. "Everyone he knew and cared about was horribly slaughtered. I think that was his problem."

The crocodile couldn't stop a snort of laughter at that.

Even the chameleon smirked. "That's probably it. Anyway, as I was saying, Sonic might have discovered Shadow's past. Sonic, despite being a blue buffoon without social grace of any sort, really does have a very gentle heart once you get through all the bravado and fake smiles. It is possible that Sonic might have been able to reason with Shadow and turned him from Eggman's side to Sonic's side. All of this might have happened before Eggman ever found all the emeralds. ARK might never have been activated and Shadow might still be alive and well if only G.U.N. hadn't interfered."

Rouge just rolled her eyes. "Yeah and for all we know, a lack of G.U.N. interference might have led to Sonic being killed by Shadow if Sonic attempted reason. We all know Sonic's skills of reasoning are worse than his social skills."

This got a grin out of the other two, though they tried to hide it. The chameleon coughed into his hand. "Well, anyway, I suppose we should get back to business. Now just what was it you want us to do?"

The bat sighed as though this were a great task and flipped through the folder in front of her. "This is a pretty tricky situation, in case you hadn't noticed.. And it could become a very dangerous situation. I don't want it to and I pretty much doubt you do either. I want someone to keep an eye on things, but I don't have enough time to do it personally. Which is why I'm hiring you. Got it?"

An eyebrow arched. "And who said we were going to take the job?"

A sweet smile from Rouge. "Why you did. Just as soon as you took my money. That generally means you're hired."

"Oh really now?" The chameleon leaned across his desk. "We reserve the right to refuse any cases we want, Miss Rouge."

The smile never faltered. "Then give me back my money. If you refuse, I know a lovely lawyer who will be more than willing to help and I'm sure you'll find that I'm in the legal right here, boys." She stood smoothly, all business, crossing to the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I really AM a very busy woman. I expect daily updates on how the situation is progressing. If I don't get them, I expect my money back. Ta, boys, I'll be in touch."

She was already nearly out of the door by now, only taking the time to give them a little wave before she shut the door. It wasn't until she was down the stairs and nearly out of the building that she let herself smirk. "I love my job."

Back in the office, a stunned silence held sway.

Finally the crocodile spoke. "Uh...Espio?"

The one behind the desk blinked and looked at his companion. "Yes, Vector?"

"Did we just get owned?"

The chameleon sighed and his head hit the desktop. "Yes, Vector, I'm afraid we did."

Vector stood, blinking as he absorbed this information, reviewing the entire conversation in his head. "Well...that really stunk!"

Espio moaned. "Tell me about it! I can't believe that sneaky bat conned us into taking a job from her!"

"Yeah, how did THAT work anyway?! Heck, I don't even know what job we've been conned into doing it went so fast!"

A gloved hand grabbed the folder that the bat had left behind. "Don't worry, we have all the information here," Espio said, pulling the folder over to him. "And it looks like one hell of a job."

"Yeah, she talked about trouble and things becomin' a problem a lot. Do you think this whole thing...whatever it is, is as damn bad as she says?"

There was a long pause as the chameleon considered this. "If this information is correct...and for all the money she paid us, I expect it IS correct...then this really COULD become a problem." Solemn gold eyes met Vector's. "A really serious problem. I think we should watch the situation, regardless of how rude she was...and we DID already take her money." A glare followed this.

The crocodile had the grace to look vaguely chagrined. "Yeah well...Rent was due."

Another sigh. "When will you stop thinking with your wallet, Vector? We shouldn't just jump into any case that pays."

Vector growled slightly. "Yeah, well, I'll stop thinking with my wallet when you start paying all the bills for us, Espio. We need cash and if you think we should watch this whole thing anyway, I don't see why we shouldn't take the nice bitch's money."

The door behind the office abruptly burst open and a ball of energy and stripes zipped in. "Hi guys! What's going on?! Who's a bitch?! Where's a bitch?!"

"Charmy! How many times have I told you not to use that language!!"

The smile the bee gave Vector was the picture of innocence. "But yoouu always use it, Vector!"

"That ain't the point! You're not even suppose to know that language, let alone use it!"

"It's not really any surprise he knows it, Vector, considering how much you always curse," Mighty put in calmly, following the bee into the room.

"Well who asked you?!" the crocodile snapped.

The armadillo just smiled and grabbed the folder from Espio, grunting as his shell clacked against the back of the uncomfortable chair. "So this is our new case then?"

Espio nodded. "This is the lovely case that Vector has so kindly burdened us with this time."

A grunt from the crocodile as he tried to catch the bee who was buzzing excitedly somewhere near the ceiling. "Hey, don't lay all this on me! You're the one who agreed to see the bi—bat."

"The bitch, the bitch, the bitch!"

"Charmy, knock it off!"

Mighty flipped through a few pages, eyebrows arching as he read a few lines. "Espio...is this stuff accurate?"

The chameleon nodded slowly. "We don't have any reason to believe it _isn't _true..."

The armadillo stood, and walked back into the apartment beyond the office. Even Vector and Charmy stopped to watch him go.

"Hey, Espio, what's up with him?" Vector asked. "I mean he seemed...moodier than normal...even for him!"

The chameleon shook his head. "Just...something. Worried about a friend. Don't worry, it will be fine."

Vector scratched his head. "Well...if you're sure, Espio."

The chameleon nodded and stood. "I'm leaving you two in charge of the office. If you need me, I'll be looking over that file with Mighty. Call me if anyone comes in."

Vector nodded while Charmy shouted, "WHEEE! I'm in charge!!"

"Now wait a minute," yelled Vector. "If anyone's in charge in here, it's me, not you squirt!"

"Nuh uh! Espio said I was in charge!"

"He said we were both in charge!"

"Which means I'm in charge!"

Espio smirked and rolled his eyes, listening to the two argue for a moment before following Mighty. He shut the door the office and leaned against it with a soft thud, chanting a mantra under his breath. Using the mantra, the chameleon focused on pushing away the unfounded sense of dread that had settled in his stomach ever since Rouge handed him that damn packet of information. After a few moments of reprieve, he sighed and went to find Mighty. Looked like things were going to be rather hectic for a while. Not that things were ever very peaceful around here.


End file.
